Bayonetta! Yes! I actually voted for her in the ballot, really wanted to see her in the game and I was so glad when they announced her. At first I thought it was going to be another Kid Icarus character but when that blue moon came and I heard her voice I knew enough... This direct was awesome!

"Rob? Tsk tsk tsk. That's a naughty word. We never rob. We just sort of borrow a bit from those who can afford it." - Robin Hood

In the final video presentation dedicated to the Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U games, creator Masahiro Sakurai provided many details about previously announced character Cloud from FINAL FANTASY VII, as well as introduced two new playable fighters to the franchise: Corrin from upcoming Nintendo 3DS game Fire Emblem Fates, and Bayonetta from the critically acclaimed Bayonetta games. Bayonetta was the overall top pick in the recent Fighter Ballot, which asked fans to nominate characters that they would love to see added to the Super Smash Bros. series. Bayonetta was the No. 1 pick in Europe and in the top five in North America. When factoring in the amount of votes, Bayonetta was the clear worldwide choice.

In addition to detailed information about the new characters, Sakurai also revealed two new stages coming to both Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U as downloadable content. Midgar – a familiar location for fans of FINAL FANTASY VII – will join the series as Cloud’s stage, while Bayonetta will feel right at home in the Umbra Clock Tower stage. New Mii Fighter outfits will also be added to the game, highlighted by a full costume inspired by Geno from the Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System.

All of these new additions will be the last downloadable content for Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U. This new content brings the total number of playable characters to 58, the total number of stages in both versions of the game to 84 and the number of costumes and hats to 99 and 97, respectively.

“Mr. Sakurai knows how to go out with a smash,” said Scott Moffitt, Nintendo of America’s Executive Vice President of Sales & Marketing. “With the inclusion of even more surprising characters, stages and costumes, Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U cement themselves as two of the most robust fighting games of all time.”

Launching as downloadable content planned for February 2016, Corrin from Fire Emblem Fates joins the roster of both Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U. Like Wii Fit Trainer, Robin and the Villager, players can choose to play as a male or female version of the character. Corrin has the blood of a dragon in his veins, allowing him to transform and pull off attacks like no other fighter. Corrin will be available as a download in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS or Wii U for $4.99, or both game versions together for $5.99.

As revealed in the Nintendo Direct presentation last month, Cloud from FINAL FANTASY VII is coming to Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U. The character will have two costumes: one inspired by the original FINAL FANTASY VII game and one from FINAL FANTASY VII: Advent Children. Like in FINAL FANTASY VII, Cloud possesses Limit Breaks when fighting in Super Smash Bros. As Cloud gives and receives damage, or uses his Down Special Attack, his Limit Break meter will fill. Once full, Cloud can activate his Limit Break. While playing on Midgar, Cloud’s new stage, players can grab Summon Materia that call forth summons from the FINAL FANTASY universe like Ifrit and Bahamut ZERO. Once activated, only the player who triggered the summon will be safe from damage. Cloud and the Midgar stage will be available as a download in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS or Wii U for $5.99, or both game versions together for $6.99, beginning within hours of today’s video presentation.

Launching at the same time as Cloud, a new Chocobo hat for Mii Fighters will release as downloadable content. Also launching is a costume based on fan-favorite character Geno from Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, a classic role-playing game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System created in collaboration with SQUARE ENIX. Additionally, Mii Fighter costumes for Sonic the Hedgehog series characters Knuckles and Tails, and even costumes inspired by more characters from other franchises will be made available for download in February 2016.

The Umbra Witch herself is joining the giant cast of playable characters in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U as a result of the worldwide Fighter Ballot. Just like in her action games, Bayonetta is a combo fighter in Super Smash Bros., chaining different kinds of attacks together. Her signature move is Witch Time, which slows down opponents if they are within range. Her new exclusive stage is called Umbra Clock Tower and is filled with moving platforms and even an alternate world. Bayonetta and the Umbra Clock Tower stage are planned for launch in February 2016, both available for download in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS or Wii U for $5.99, or both game versions together for $6.99.

As with all the other playable Super Smash Bros. characters, Cloud, Corrin and Bayonetta will also get their own amiibo figures. More information about these upcoming amiibo figures will be revealed in the future. Additionally, amiibo figures for current fighters Ryu and Roy, along with a Famicom Color version R.O.B., will launch on March 18. All amiibo figures are sold separately.

Super Smash Bros. director Masahiro Sakurai revealed an interesting tidbit about the Fighter Ballot for the Wii U and 3DS games in his Famitsu column this week. In his piece, Sakurai states that about 1.8 million votes were cast worldwide.

Nintendo announced Bayonetta as the Super Smash Bros. Fighter Ballot winner last week. She was the top choice in Europe, within the top five in the United States, and first overall when it comes to negotiable and realizable characters.

Sakurai on the inclusion of Cloud, Corrin, and Bayonetta in Smash Bros. Wii U/3DS

Super Smash Bros. director Masahiro Sakurai often writes columns that are featured in Famitsu. There’s a new piece in this week’s issue, and unsurprisingly, it’s dedicated to Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS. Sakurai specifically comments on the latest DLC characters: Cloud, Corrin, and Bayonetta.

With Cloud, Sakurai reiterates what he said during the Smash Bros. presentation about his inclusion. He was picked as a roster addition because he’s the most popular Final Fantasy character by far.

Since Cloud holds the huge Buster Sword with one hand lightly, that means he excels in all of power, speed, and range. But with such stats he would be breaking the game balance, so to counterbalance that, the team made his moveset to be heavily based on swinging, especially as shown by his horizontal Smash Attack. If it’s charged properly, he launches a 3-hit combo quickly. It has the speed and range, but they’re giving it a disadvantage in a huge gap and low recovery rate. They also added Limit Break as a system to represent Final Fantasy VII. If the Limit Gauge is charged to its maximum, the Finisher Attack can be greatly powered up, but only once. This will change the battle situation, so it’s a peculiar tactic that both the user and opponent need to be aware of.

Moving on to Corrin, Sakurai mentions that since they’ve been making DLC for Smash Bros. Wii U and 3DS, they’ve been thinking about adding a character from a title that’s about to or just saw release. The game of choice here falls to Fire Emblem Fates, which came out in Japan back in June and will be heading west in February. Sakurai writes that he himself thought they were adding too many characters from Fire Emblem, but after speaking with the development staff, he was assured that Corrin would make for an interesting fighter.

Finally, Sakurai shares a few words about Bayonetta. As we mentioned a bit earlier, she was selected as the Smash Bros. Fighter Ballot winner after nearly 2 million votes worldwide. Bayonetta was the top rank character from the poll in terms of realizable and negotiable characters. Since Nintendo published Bayonetta 2, it was easy to negotiate that.

Sakurai did have some problems in terms of moving her from Bayonetta to Smash Bros., however. This is why he ended up making her as a combo-oriented character. Another problem they’re having is how to keep her from raising the game’s rating, as in Japan even the slightest sexual exposure would raise the game’s rating from A (for all ages).

Smash Bros. director Masahiro Sakurai’s latest Famitsu column was all about the new DLC characters in the Wii U and 3DS games. Prior to this though, in another recent issue, he tackled the topic of criticism.

Sakurai begins his piece by talking about Star Wars and George Lucas, who is no longer involved with the franchise. He also reflected on a quote from Lucas in which he stated: “you go to make a movie and all you do is get criticized. And it’s not much fun. You can’t experiment.”

… I truly understand his feelings. You could say my body is filled with these feelings. Making something, and completing it is a huge undertaking, and there are a lot of places where fans can’t see. It’s like building a house, but people focus on a single painting that’s hung up on a wall in one room, and fixate on it, and keep listing off their complaints of that painting. These situations are very common.

For me, a familiar example would be…in Smash, Cloud recently became a playable character. And there were people that strongly criticized that, saying “Stop adding non-Nintendo characters!” This is completely ignoring the fact that I’ve added many, many Nintendo characters to Smash. It also ignores the many fans who were overjoyed at Cloud’s addition. Looking at the big picture, I am on the receiving end of countless amounts of truly trivial statements.

However, I think that’s okay. Different people value different things differently, and they should stay honest to that. For example, even I, as a fan (?) have my complaints with Star Wars. I honestly dislike Episode VI’s long-winded pacing and how easily the Empire Stormtroopers fall to the Ewoks. I think that the re-releases are redundant and superfluous. But, more than that, I am grateful that they showed me these various worlds, and let me enjoy them. Normally, I just don’t have the opportunity to vocalize my feelings of gratitude.

A new issue of Famitsu features a full-page ad devoted to the Cloud Strife downloadable content in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and Nintendo 3DS. The guy who spotted the ad, John Ricciardi, says this might be the first time he’s ever seen an entire page in the magazine allotted to DLC. Final Fantasy’s Cloud was added to the Super Smash Bros. roster of playable characters last month. He brought the new Midgar stage with him, complete with summons.

Good news for both Nintendo and Super Smash Bros fans as Super Smash Bros for both Nintendo 3DS and Wii U won the award for Favourite Video Game at the 42nd People’s Choice Awards. There were obviously a lot of strong contenders, but Super Smash Bros came away as the winner.

Popular sports network ESPN will soon be expanding their coverage to include eSports, covering popular games like League of Legends, Dota 2, Hearthstone, and more. That initial list of games will grow over time, and another popular title has just been confirmed for the future. In response to a fan on Twitter, ESPN announced that among the games and events they'll be adding in the future, we can expect to see Super Smash Bros., Nintendo's beloved fighting series.